1st Kings 19:4-8
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John
6:41-51
______________________________________________________________________
In today’s readings, we hear about Jesus experiencing murmuring
from the Jewish people. Those opposed to what Jesus is saying about the Bread
of Life also doubted the truth about God.
We see the Prophet Elijah both discouraged and despairing,
fleeing into the desert in order to save his life from those who did not like
his message. And yet once there, praying that he dies. Elijah would become one
of the Jewish faith’s most important prophets for telling the truth despite
stiff opposition. He was also with Jesus
at this week’s Feast of the Transfiguration.
And we hear St. Paul reminding us to remove all anger and
bitterness, and instead be kind, compassionate and forgiving. And so be
imitators of God.
These are stories of our complex human condition, our difficulty
in trusting in our creator and our inability, at times, to hear the truth.
I heard an amazing story about Pope Francis during my recent
Maryknoll mission to the U.S./Mexico border to learn about border issues.
Days after being elevated to Pope, the Holy Father went to his
Secretary of State and said, “I want to go to Lampedusa.” This is an island on
the southernmost tip of Italy. The place has become a tragic shore for
immigrants and migrants who risk life and limb to find a better world. Many
have lost lives from capsized boats in the Mediterranean and washed up on those
shores. Perhaps you’ve seen the pictures of these tragedies.
The Secretary of State firmly reminded the new Pope that such a
visit would take a year to plan and execute. It could not be done immediately. Pope
Francis thanked the Vatican official, but said he still wanted to go to
Lampedusa. The Secretary of State figured his new boss would come to his senses
and realize the impossibility of his request.
A few weeks later Pope Francis returned to the office of the
Secretary of State and again repeated his request: “I want to go to Lampedusa.”
At that point, the Secretary of State sternly told the Pope, you
don’t want your first official action as Pope to be such a controversial trip.
Immigration and Migration are political hot button issues in European nations,
too.
But the Pope was insistent.
A few weeks later, the Secretary of State got a call from the
CEO of Alitalia Airline saying, “I think you should know a man named Jorge
Bergoglio has just booked a ticket on our airline to Lampedusa.”
Francis did go to Lampedusa four short months after becoming
Pope and his trip would set the stage for one of the biggest priorities of his
Pontificate: changing the global conversation about immigrants and migrants to
a Catholic perspective.
In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus saying something that brings the
same kind of murmuring heard every time Pope Francis discusses Catholic
teaching on the issue of immigration and migration.
I’d like to ask you to go on a journey with me. First, if you
would be so inclined, please close your eyes and try to envision what heaven
will look like. Now, find your neighborhood in the Kingdom. Look around the
streets and look at the faces of those there with you in the New Jerusalem.
Notice anything?
My bet is our neighbors in heaven will be the same people some
might not want as our neighbors in this country now. There we will see
neighbors of Mexican or Guatemalan descent or neighbors of Middle Eastern
descent.
Now open your eyes.
 |
Pope Francis sees the world through the eyes of God. As
Catholics, he encourages us to do the same.
The border issue is a complicated mess. No one would disagree
with that. But it is one in desperate need of our Catholic common good, urgent
attention and our prayers.
The U.S. Bishops, including our own, following the principles of
Catholic Social Teaching and the example of the popes, have been resolute in
their support of the duty of Catholics to welcome migrants and refugees. The
Bishops affirm the right of nations to secure their borders while at the same
time calling for immigration reform. They also firmly oppose any actions that
break up families, dividing children from their parents, and husbands from
their wives.
The Bishops in our state have a new website on the issue. I’ve
linked it to our parish Facebook page (Link to Washington Bishop's website HERE).
Our trip to the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez border was eye
opening and transformational in many ways. 
There, we met with the Border Guard to hear what they do to
protect lives at our borders. In many ways, we found angels not unlike those
caring for Elijah’s physical needs in today’s first reading. When encountering
people trying to cross the border illegally, they find and minister first to
those needing food and water. Many times this means letting the so-called
“Coyotes” go. “Coyotes” is a nickname for those who smuggling immigrants into
the US illegally.
We also met with families who had just been reunited after two
months of separation. It was evident to us that the children and the adults had
been traumatized.
Most we met had legally
presented themselves at the border as asylum seekers, only to be separated and
put into detention for two months. Men would go to one facility. Women to
another. And the children would be taken from their mothers and fathers and put
someplace else.
Next we served at a Sisters of Loreto nursing home, where dozens
of families were staying short-term until their cases were resolved. All the
men wore ankle bracelets and all families had court dates scheduled on their
asylum cases.
One mission participant is originally from Peru. Helena’s lived
in the U.S. now for seven years and teaches kindergarten on a Native American
reservation in Wisconsin. The minute the staff found out her background and
fluency in Spanish, my friend was immediately placed with the kids.
Your’s truly was assigned bathroom cleaning duties.
After finishing my assignment, I went down to see how Helena’s
experience was going. There in the middle of the floor was a four year old boy
crying, with his crying father looking on. Helena was comforting the boy.
As we were leaving, the boy wouldn’t let go of Helena. His
father cried all the harder. As Helena finally handed the boy back to his
father, she turned to me and said, “The boy asked me if I would be his mommy. I told him I could not be.”
Helena immediately broke down in a puddle of tears as we
departed the center.
Saint John Paul II said during his pontificate: “If the ‘dream’
of a peaceful world is shared by all, if the refugees’ and migrants’
contribution is properly evaluated, then humanity can become more and more a
universal family and our earth a true ‘common home.’”
Pope Francis reminded us during his 2015 trip to the United
States of an important point to consider when thinking about immigrants and
migrants: “We, the people of this (American) continent (north, south and
central), are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once
foreigners. I say this to you as a son of immigrants, knowing that so many of
you are also descended from immigrants.”
Jesus tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves and to welcome
the stranger. Solidarity with our neighbors and strangers are actually commands from
Christ.
Pope Francis wrote in his Message of Peace released on New
Year’s Day something worthy of reflection: “Many destination countries have
seen the spread of rhetoric decrying the risks posed to national security or
the high cost of welcoming new arrivals, and thus demeaning the human dignity
due to all sons and daughters of God. Those who, for what may be political
reasons, foment fear of migrants instead of building peace are sowing violence,
racial discrimination and xenophobia, which are matters of great concern for
all those concerned for the safety of every human being.”
So, as we ponder what our neighbors will look like in heaven and
who will be in our neighborhoods here on earth, let us reflect on our human
actions in this world and ask ourselves: am I building up the Kingdom or
tearing it down?”
For in the Kingdom of God there are no borders.
No comments:
Post a Comment